AOL posts stronger than expected ad sales for 4th quarter

The company posted a 13 percent boost in revenue to $679 million for the quarter compared to $599.5 million from the same period last year. Most of that boost comes from higher ad sales.

AOL saw a 23 percent rise in advertising revenue to $507 million, which the company attributes to the sale of more expensive premium advertising spots (including video ads) through its new programmatic ad platform. The company acquired ad tech startup Adap.tv for $405 million last year, a move that seems to be paying off.

With AOL getting rid of the underperforming hyperlocal news platform Patch weeks ago, the company’s revenue should continue to improve over the next few quarters. (And that’s not even accounting for any potential boost in revenue from AOL’s most recent big purchase of contextual data-platform Gravity.)

AOL stock is currently trading at a 2.33 percent loss of $46.46 per share.